Now that San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell has the 2023 National League Cy Young award in the bag, he feels that it's just the right time for him to shift his full attention to the MLB free agency.

“I haven't been focused on free agency at all…From this day forward I'll be thinking about free agency because that's what's next,“ Snell said after learning of his second Cy Young win, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

There shouldn't be a shortage of interest in Blake Snell this offseason. Having already cemented his status as the best pitcher — at least in the NL — teams in need of an ace should be looking in the direction of Snell, who is one of only two southpaws in the history of the big leagues to win the Cy Young in the NL and in the American League. Snell won his first Cy Young in 2018 when he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Snell was traded by the Rays to the Padres in 2020. Earlier this month of November, Snell received a qualifying offer worth $20.35 million from San Diego which he did not accept, thus paving his way to the waters of MLB free agency. He beat out Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants and Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the award.

Snell, who got 28 first-place Cy Young votes, finished the 2023 MLB season with a 14-9 record and a 2.25 ERA across 32 starts (180.0 innings). He held opposing batters to only a .181 batting average and a .293 OBP.